Sport governance codes as social and cultural norms

Mathew Dowling

Chapter 3 in Handbook on Sport and Culture, 2025, pp 35-47 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter investigates the increasing codification and quantification of governance in sport, with a particular emphasis on codes of ‘good’ governance as reflections of, and as potential tools for shaping, social and cultural norms. The chapter begins by providing a brief discussion of the growing trend to codify and quantify governance principles within the context of sport. Drawing upon social norm theory and the sociology of quantification literature, a case is put forward for conceptualising sport governance codes as social and cultural norms. Rather than passive, technocratic, and administrative ‘tick box’ exercises, they can be more accurately understood as standards or expectations of conduct that proactively shape (i.e. enable and constrain) social behaviour. The discussion then turns to the implications of conceptualising sport governance codes as social and cultural norms and how they can be potentially used as mechanisms of social control. Finally, these issues and their implications for sport organisations are further explored through insights and empirical data drawn from a pilot study of the ongoing implementation of the Football Association's (FA) Code of Governance for County Associations within the East of England.

Keywords: Cultural norms; Football; Governance codes; Power; Sociology of quantification (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035339976
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